New Zealand Academy of Fashion Design Was incorporated in April 2005 and has since experienced exceptional growth. The Academy currently hosts 20 classes per week, accommodating over 150 students. Small enough to know all our students by name we ensure you have the skills you need to create fashion. We specialise in part time courses, so you can study for your Diploma while you work or go to school. Our...

The Academy

NZ Academy of Fashion

Our courses are aimed at the local student with an interest in fashion design. Our mission statement is - Where Fashion Careers Begin - and we enable our students either start their fashion career with a good foundation in practical skills, or add to any degree they may have which may not include these skills. We teach the creation of clothes, with other courses adding to the students mix where required.

Students enrolled in any of our courses are NOT eligible for a student loan. NZAF does have interest free instalment plans available.

Our courses are not full time and while international students are welcome to enrol in them if in New Zealand on valid visa, the courses do not create eligibility for a student visa to study in New Zealand.

Testimonials

I always wanted to learn how to make my own patterns and design beautiful clothes but I wasn’t able to quit my full time job. I found the Diploma course by searching the Internet and was so happy that I finally was able to study what I am so passionate about. I have learned so much and was able to do it from home. When I got stuck, with making patterns or making the garments, my tutor was so helpful and made it really easy to correct my mistakes, and put me on the right track.
Before I st…

Melanie Donhauser

Before I started the Diploma I thought it would be like a hobby course, but it was way more extensive than I thought it would be, which was good! I felt like I learnt so much more than I expected. I love the process of being able to draw up a pattern in my own design and then make it up, it is always exciting. Patternmaking has been my most difficult subject but it has opened up a new skill. Using the patternmaking template is like discovering a magic tool. I would love to design my…

Victoria Stewart - Diploma 2014

I was looking for a course that would teach me patternmaking and the Saturday Patternmaking course ticked all the boxes, it was part time and we started from the basics so didn’t have to know too much before, although it helped to know a bit about constructing a garment. Terry our tutor was fantastic, guided us and gave us plenty of time, and the best thing was being able to do it part time. I loved having a challenge and working to deadlines, after all there is no pressure to complete whe…

Sharon Steed - Advanced Tailoring 2014

I took this course as I wanted the ability to design my own clothes, specifically for me, that fit! This course has opened up a whole new word. I expected to learn all about making blocks and what was promised on the website, and I got that and so much more. I love having the ability to create my own designs and know how clothes are constructed. I have recommended to a couple of friends that they should do this patternmaking course. Its great that the classes are small and friendly and…

Jane Westaway - 10 Week Saturday Patternmaking

I loved all of this course; before I started I was quite nervous, I thought it would be very detailed and number oriented, but Terry was able to cater to how I learn best. I am doing Costume Design at Unitec and wanted to have the knowledge of patternmaking to help with this course. I wanted the knowledge of how to dissect images to lead into a pattern, and now I can! I would definitely recommend this course, my tutor at Unitec is impressed at how much I learnt in such a short space of time. –…

Bri Lee - 10 Week Saturday Patternmaking

I come from Rotorua every day and I really love the course. I look back over the year and I have learnt so much its astronomical! I now rarely get stuck. Before I started I thought the Diploma would be easier than what it is, I didn’t realise the extent of the learning from the History of Fashion to Fashion Illustration and even some printmaking, its not just learning to sew but a whole range of related subjects. I am excited to be carrying on to next year, if possible, as it opens options …

Bianca Lyes - Diploma 2014

I started straight from school and found the people at the Academy comfortable to work with and we had heaps of teacher one on one time. I got more from the course than I expected, I feel now I can do everything, and I am looking forward to next year to the more advanced modules. During the course I couldn’t wait to get back to my days at the Academy and find out about the next thing I was going to learn, I never missed a days class.
Learning with the Patternmaking tool made everything eas…

Asti Alexander - Diploma 2014

I have been coming to the Academy for 7 years. l started as a teen and I have now almost completed the Diploma. I took the Diploma because I wanted the knowledge of garment construction to help me with costume design.
The pattern making is brilliant, we are able to work on our own, and figure out what we want to do, with input from the tutor. Learning how to make a basic block for any woman/man’s measurements is also a must for costume design. No one is the same shape or size. The course …

Lily Ferguson - Day Diploma 2014

I am really enjoying the Distance Diploma course I find it challenging and creative. I initially trained as a hairdresser/makeup artist, but couldn’t find the backup in my apprenticship. When I started the Diploma I thought it would be a lot easier, but I found I can learn at my own pace and I get great feedback from my tutor Glenda, who lets me know where I have made an error and why. The most difficult thing is waiting for the feedback but Glenda goes into great detail and helps me under…

Chris Stokes - Distance Diploma

I am from Hamilton and make the journey every 2nd week or so to Auckland to take this course. I have started my own business in Hamilton, Vintage and Antiques, and took the course to help with the business. I wanted to learn to pattern draft my own designs and not have to make them up 3 times to get the fit right. Terry is is great tutor, she is patient and takes the class from the simple stuff to the difficult stuff, which if you do the simple stuff is not so hard. The format of the course is…

Ange Blaikie - 10 Week Saturday Patternmaking

I am already skilled as a sewer and I wanted to make my own clothes from the very beginning. I joined the 10 weeks Saturday patternmaking course and hoped to learn the basic patternmaking skills. I learnt this and so much more. We were set homework at the end of every block and sometimes I had to refer to the excellent notes to remember what we had learned in class. There are no more than eight people per class and the group was great. Its good to learn with like minded people. Terry is a fan…

Erin Stephenson 10 Week Saturday Patternmaking

I was hoping to learn sewing, patternmaking and alterations and I hoped I would achieve that. I initially struggled to keep up with the Diploma because of language difficulties, but I improved gradually. My fears were that I would not understand the assignments, but the Academy helped with extra lessons and while it is still a challenge to me I am keeping up. I would recommend this course to my friends because it is very well organised and we learn a lot. – Day Diploma 2014

Cuilan du Toit - Diploma 2014

I joined the diploma to learn how to make things properly, and clearly from what I learned I was not doing it properly in the past! I also joined with a view to doing something with my study after completion and although its difficult with work I am definitely going to try out a few things, and I have some great ideas. During the course I sometimes found it difficult to coordinate with work and found I needed more time, the diploma goes at a good pace, but sometimes you need to take accoun…

Fiona Bignall - Diploma 2014

I took this course because my mother is a dressmaker and she wanted to learn how to make her own patterns, but her english is not good. I thought this course would be all theory with a little bit of practical but its exactly the opposite. We learn how to translate the design lines and view garments in a totally different way. I can sew so it was not a stretch to learn how patterns fit together. I would recommend this course and ask the Academy when they are doing the more advanced patternm…

Linda Ngo - 10 Week Saturday Patternmaking

When I took this course I didn’t know what to expect, I wanted to learn how to make dresses from my own designs. By taking this course I have learned the skills of looking at a design and and realising what I have to do to create the adaptations, Terry has made it so that I am taking the knowledge off patternmaking not just the recipes away with me. The biggest benefits for me are knowing how to construct a basic block, and adapting that block to my own designs. I would highly recommend t…

Yana Kok 10 Week Saturday Patternmaking

This is a great course, everyone is very friendly and the tutors are great. I joined this course as I thought I would like to make garments at home and make them properly, I loved to create but without the specialist knowledge it was a struggle. Now that I have almost completed the course I am planning on going into business with my daughter and daughter in law to make clothes for the markets, its now easy to make a unique garment and know if the market wants it. The biggest benefit from t…

Rebecca Nasili - Diploma 2014

I am now a fashion buyer promoted while I was taking the Diploma. I went into the industry with no technical knowledge, one of the buyers suggested I needed a patternmaking course to advance in my career and while I was interested in the 8 week patternmaking as it was at that time, it made more sense to take the whole Diploma course and get a more rounded aspect of apparel production. Taking an evening course worked well, I didn’t have the time to go back to uni as I was already in full time wo…

Lisa Stallard - Diploma 2014

I joined the Academy because I wanted to learn how to make clothes because I love fashion, the Evening class is a little bit hard but fun. Before I started I didn’t think it would be as hard as it is, but I really enjoy it. I am in Year 13 and I entered the Westlake Girls Fashion Show and am a finalist. Its my first time so I am very proud, as is my mother and grandfather. I took this Diploma as I want to go onto study fashion and I think this will give me a head start. I love designing…

Sally Jee - Diploma 2014

What I like most about the Evening Diploma is the tutors and how I learnt to sew functional professional looking garments, I also made a lot of friends. I knew exactly what I was getting into as I had researched courses extensively and this was the most practical course I came across, it taught me everything I wanted and nothing I didn’t. I also talked to Pam and Marlene and knew exactly what the course entailed.The biggest benefit is being able to see a garment and then pick out the pattern.…

Sanam Vaziri - Diploma 2014

I really liked the History of Fashion and Garment Construction, I love sewing and wanted a more hands on course than that offered by Massey. I had to wait until the mid year intake before I could start the Diploma, but I wanted to be more hands on rather than theory oriented and this Diploma covers the basics, it certainly lived up to my expectations. The biggest benefits were it only being 2 days a week so I could work and study, the Academy was close to home and I got to sew on an industri…

Sally Johnston - Diploma 2014

What I liked most about the Diploma was making the actual clothes, and also going through the whole process, from patternmaking to actually constructing the garments. When I first started I really didn’t think it could be that detailed and involved, I now realise that fashion takes a lot of time and effort. The biggest benefit for me was being able to look at a picture, create a pattern and make the garment. The tutors were helpful, patient and really went out of their way to make sure I un…

Benjamin Rolfes - Diploma 2014

I loved everything about the Diploma but the patternmaking was the best. I thought before I started the course I would be learning all about sewing for fashion, but I learnt far more than I thought I would. I learnt to sew on industrial machines, to use the patternmaking tool and gained lots of confidence in what I could do. I can now look at most images and patternmake from that image. I love that I can make personal blocks for everyone. The tutors are amazing, and after I leave the A…

Fiona Chi - Diploma 2014

Mum and I met with people from the Academy and decided that the diploma course sounded really hands on and practical and I would learn good skills. The best thing about the course is I can make anything I want from the basics and more. I really liked the hands on aspect and the fact it was only 2 years as other degrees take 3 or 4 years. I appreciated the smaller classes as this gave me, and the rest of the students, more individual attention. I was learning all the things I needed to cr…

Sarah Watters

NZAF has fantastic tutors and I thoroughly enjoy what I learn. Before I started with NZAF I thought it was an intimate school, but it has grown and changed. I also thought I could perhaps change my career, but wasn’t sure it it was enough to get a job in the industry, but now I feel I can get a job and I am only at the end of year 1. I know taking this course is life changing, I have met so many fantastic people and am awaking my brain and learning new skills.
I would unreservedly recomm…

Rachel Fastier

As I approach the end of a two year diploma course I wish I had the funds to continue to take courses at the NZ Academy of Fashion Design as I have found it so enjoyable. This is my third course at the academy, having previously completed the introductory course, and the over-locker course.
I started at the academy as a complete novice and the knowledge I have gained far exceeds my expectations. The standard of teaching at this academy is second to none. The teachers are not only highly skill…

Rosalind Hickman

Classes in 2018

We are in the process of building the new premises in Mt Eden, click on the link to tell us what you would like to learn next year.